Diana (25 page)

“When you look at the mangled bodies of children caught by these mines, you marvel at their survival.”

“Much ingenuity has gone into making some of these mines. Many are designed to trap an unwary de-miner. Whenever such tricky mines appear, the de-miner will call in one of the supervising teams who will then take over. That is what keeps their lives perpetually at risk.”

“There are said to be around one hundred and ten million mines lurking somewhere in the world, and over a third of them are to be found in Africa! Angola is probably more heavily mined than anywhere else because the war went on for such a long time.”

“Even if the world decided tomorrow to ban these weapons, this terrible legacy of mines already in earth would continue to plague the poor nations of the globe.”

“The more expeditiously we can end this plague on earth caused by the land mine, the more readily
can we set about the constructive task to which so many give their hand in the cause of humanity.”

“I was briefed but it did not prepare me for the reality. I have never seen scenes like this before. It is very humbling. Being a mother of two boys, one wants to go out and help these children in particular where little people have lost their legs. Part of their future has been taken away. It’s had a tremendous impact on me. But when you’re traumatized to the extent these people have, the only thing you can hang on to is your dignity. No one can take that away.”

“It’s horrific…. Someone’s got to do something. There was a little girl with her intestines blown out and she was very, very poorly. Just looking at her and thinking what was going on inside her head was very disturbing. But she’s just one statistic.”

“My lasting impression is of the hope that’s generated in my country. They have so many problems. I’ve had both ends of the spectrum—some of it official but most of it informal. You have to have one with the other, but I’ve always wanted to do visits like this.

“The Red Cross originally suggested me going to other countries but it was not appropriate. It was suggested that we should go to Angola, which was sensible as it is the country most affected by land mines. The number of amputees is quite shocking.”

Former land-mine clearer Chris Moon was maimed by a mine, but he carries on in any way he can—usually by performing feats of physical endurance—to draw attention to the cause of banning land mines. Diana said of him: “He really symbolizes what selfless bravery is.”

At a Washington gala dinner to aid the American Red Cross, in June 1997, Diana said, “I do so welcome this opportunity to share with you all some experiences of the waste of life, limb, and land which antipersonnel land mines are causing amongst some of the poorest people on earth. Permit me not to tell you exactly what I saw. What is so cruel about these wounds is they are almost invariably suffered where medical resources are scarce. A chronic shortage of medicine, of pain killers, even of anaesthetics. Surgeons engaged in amputating limbs without the facilities we would expect to see here. The evil that men do lives after them….”

In a BBC documentary about land mines in Angola, Diana said, “Before I came to Angola, I knew the facts, but the reality was a shock. Here people are living with the knowledge that it is only a matter of time before someone else is maimed or killed. It was moving and encouraging to see the
confidence shown by those learning to walk again.”